Ogden Temple Open House

I had the chance to go to the Ogden Temple Open House the last weekend of August with my family. I haven't been to an open house since Fresno, CA in either 1999 or 2000 so it's been a REALLY long time! My mom got the tickets in June so it was something we had been planning for quite a while, but last minute Jake ended up having mandatory OT so he wasn't able to come. I was SUPER bummed since it was our first time taking Kaycee to any temple. I was also really nervous about taking care of Kaycee without him. Our tickets were for right when she should be napping and our Kaycee girl loves her naps and is not a happy camper if she has to miss one. Having a screaming baby in the temple did NOT sound like fun to me but I decided to go anyway and hope for the best.

We waited between 1-2 hours before we got inside the temple. She barely slept on the way up, plus sitting and waiting so long - in my mind that meant I was going to have an insanely fussy baby. But she did amazing - she didn't make a peep the whole time. By the time we got out of the temple, it was 2 hours after she should have had a bottle and she'd been awake for nearly 4 hours. And she did not make a peep, no fussing, no talking - nothing! She sucked on her binky super contentedly and looked around absolutely everywhere.

It was AMAZING to me how wide her eyes were. She loves lights anyway, but the temple chandeliers are stunning and she was absolutely fascinated by looking at them. And she seriously did not make a SOUND! I had her in the Bjorn and I had thought she'd want to get out part way through but nope. I know I have an awesome baby who is super chill but this was above and beyond her usual awesome self. I'm absolutely positive my little princess knew she was at her Father's home and she could feel the Spirit.

I love how I feel in the temple and it always amazes me how strong the Spirit is even when the temple hasn't been dedicated yet. This was no exception - when we got to the Celestial Room I felt like I'd hit a brick wall because the Spirit was SOO strong in there. Kaycee and I held hands while we walked through the room and she just stared at that huge chandelier. It was such an amazing moment in my life and I'm so grateful for it, I just wish Jake had been able to come too. Good thing there are 2 temples that will be having open houses soon - Provo and Payson! Jake and I are already planning our trip for just the 3 of us to go and see those temples too!

My family after we finished our tour

My princess and me 

I'm so grateful for temples, for the Gospel, that I'm sealed to my amazing little family, for having a worthy Priesthood holder and temple recommend holding husband and for the chance I had to go the temple. Seeing the impact the temple had on Kaycee really strengthened my testimony of just how amazing temples are!